Ironsworn RPG is a solo TTRPG designed by Shawn Tomkin (links for the game can be found in the Dragon's Hoard). In our first adventure, we will be following the story of Jaggar Kova as he journeys around the Ironlands. We set up the character, his initial relationships, and motivations in Session 0 part 1 and part 2. To catch up on Jaggar's story, check out the Game Journal.
Story Recap
Dice Roll
Jaggar moved cautiously down yet another corridor. He despised the cloak and dagger nature of this whole situation, preferring the straight-forward clash of iron on iron. He wrapped his hand around the hilt of his sword, finding comfort in the worn leather. With such low visibility in the dim hallway, he found the familiar hilt to be a bulwark against the tension in his neck and the jittery nerves coursing through his body. Jaggar was well aware that one misstep could spell disaster.
Reaching the end of the corridor without incident, he exhaled in relief. He climbed yet another curving stair, feeling the burn of so much exertion in his calves and thighs. On the next landing, he found an open door. Suspicious of another trap, Jaggar drew his sword. The perfectly balanced weight of the blade provided him a sense of control, of power. He peered into the room, only to find it was nearly impassable.
Rubble littered the floor, piling higher than he was tall in the center of the room. A glance at the ceiling revealed the source of the detritus–the roof had given way, and now cluttered the floor. He sheathed his sword, and began to traverse the debris. Near the top of the cairn, his foot caught on something. Jaggar pulled his boot free and looked back. Instead of stone catching his foot, he discovered the remains of a large man, dressed in thick leathers reminiscent of the raiders who attacked Olgar’s Stand. The warrior was crushed beneath a large segment of stonework, and only his feet and head were visible. Jaggar shivered, knowing that he would have met the same fate on a lower floor if he had been a second slower. He continued to pick his way through the room, and finally made it safely to the door on the other side.
Roll Results
Dice Rolls
In the next corridor, Jaggar progressed cautiously. He took a step into the gloom but his foot connected with nothing, and he nearly fell into a yawning darkness. He drew in his foot just in time to regain his balance. The floor was completely missing. Groping around, he found a loose stone and tossed it across the chasm in search of a ledge. It clattered as it found ground on the other side.
Jaggar paused, considering his options. He was beginning to doubt that Chieftain Serene was even in this tower. All of the traps and broken floors seemed to suggest that the people of Stonetower had only recently begun using the tower. After a few moments, however, he determined there was no choice but to continue his climb up the tower. He would have to take the risk and try to jump across.
He backed up from the ledge until he reached the doorway of the previous room. He took a deep breath, steadying his nerves, then ran as hard as he could toward the edge and launched himself into the air.
Jaggar flew out across the rift, heart hammering in his chest. A moment later, his torso slammed against the ground on the far side, knocking the breath from his lungs. He scrambled to find purchase on the broken stonework, hands clawing at the flagstones. He struggled to find the leverage needed to haul his dangling body to safety.
Finally, Jaggar managed to dig the toes of his boots into the broken stones on the side of the drop, and pushed up. His fingers found purchase, and with some effort he managed to heave himself onto solid ground. He lay on the floor for a long while, panting and shaking from exertion and fear.
Again he cursed the cloak and dagger tactics of his enemy, wishing for warrior-to-warrior combat. He had been in many deadly situations, received wounds that could, and maybe should, have killed him. This fear, though, was completely different. Battle always brought a level of terror, but that fear served to hone instincts, to forge resolve, in the face of the enemy. The tower, and its traps, were something altogether foreign. The environment, as well as the architecture opposed him, and he could not wrap his mind around how to combat stone and gravity.
Dice Results
Dice Roll
When his nerves settled, Jaggar rose and made his way forward into the gloom. At the next landing, he stepped out, and immediately regretted the decision. The floor, no longer stone but old and decaying wood, creaked beneath his weight. He took a step back onto solid stone. The creak of the wood unsettled him. Once again, his resolve was challenged. Looking ahead, he could see the glow of torch-light from beneath a door on the far side. The warm, orange flickering gave him hope that his goal was close at hand.
Jaggar steeled himself against his fear by gripping the hilt of his sword once again. He wondered absently when he had started viewing the blade as a kind of totem. He shrugged, unsure of the answer.
He took a step onto the creaky wooden floor, treading as lightly as he could. With each step, the creaking grew worse, until a board snapped beneath his foot. He just managed to stay upright, and heard the faint clatter of the board as it hit the ground somewhere below him.
Jaggar realized then that what he originally believed to be a wooden floor was actually a makeshift bridge. He found himself thinking the carpenter of Olgar’s Stand, Dag, would be disgusted at such shoddy craftsmanship, and grinned despite the circumstances. If he made it out of this affair alive, he vowed on the iron of his sword to buy Dag a cask of Olgar’s Stand’s best ale and spend the night commiserating with her over the short-comings of poorly constructed bridges.
Swear an Iron Vow
He took another step and paused as the aging boards behind him cracked and began to fall away. With no other choice but onward, Jaggar ran. The planks beneath his feet began to warp and snap beneath him, threatening to drop him into the dark depths below. As the torch-light coming from beneath the door grew close, he leapt, and the board he was standing on crumbled beneath him. For the second time, he found himself soaring through the air and praying to all the gods he’d ever heard of that he’d land on solid stone.
He hit the ground before the door with a grunt, grateful to feel the cool stone beneath him once again. He was completely out of breath and shaking from the exertion, but forced himself to stand and move to the door.
Dice Results
Jaggar could hear a deep voice on the other side but couldn’t make out the words. Expecting, and even hoping, for a fight, he drew his sword. Jaggar immediately felt more centered and made a mental note to consider his relationship with the blade if he made it out of the tower.
Dice Rolls
He placed his hand on the rugged wooden door, and pushed. It swung open on rusty hinges to reveal a moldy and overgrown room. On the far side, he spotted the hulking frame of one of the warrior’s who had captured the chieftain. Gripping his sword tighter, he stormed inside, prepared to fight.
The warrior, who had no weapon, held up a hand to forestall him. Every fiber of Jaggar’s being screamed for him to advance on the man and slay him. But his mind instinctively knew something was off. He stopped mid-way into the room, holding his blade before him, ready to attack or block as needed. As his Wits overcame his Iron, Jaggar realized the chieftain was nowhere to be seen in the chamber.
“Where is Chieftain Serene?” he demanded from the warrior, preparing to go on the offensive.
The brute merely grinned at him, a menacing sneer. “Your chieftain is alive and well. You will be seeing her soon.”
As he spoke, Jaggar felt someone step up behind him. Before he could turn to defend himself, something heavy hammered into his skull. Sharp, blinding pain flooded his head, and he sank to his knees. He tried to rise, but the pain was too great and he fell to the floor.
Before darkness took him, he heard the warrior say, "Bind him. The Magister will be pleased with our offering."
Dice Results
What will become of our intrepid warrior? Who is the Magister, and what do they want with Chieftain Serene and Jaggar? Find out in session 5, coming next Tuesday (14 June)!
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